One Bright Moment (Is All I Ask)
by AnikaAnn
Summary: Damned If I Do coda aka Christmas at Nelsons. Foggy's mum invited Matt's girlfriend for Christmas as well. It was a really sweet gesture, except it scared Vera out of her mind. It goes as well as expected. Set after the epilogue (and bonus) of 'Damned If I Do' and after 'Of Reluctant Allies'. Possibly a standalone?
1. Chapter 1

"Oh, please, as if you didn't know. It's still the same. Even though I might try the gingerbread latté, Karen wouldn't shut up about it. So…yeah, I'll go for it. Two gingerbreads and one boring plain Americano with no sugar," Foggy answered – unusually cheerily, even for him – once Vera greeted him and asked him about his order.

It was after middle of December. Things were… good. Actually, things were _great_. There was snow on the pavement; something people were bickering about (not really meaning it, Vera suspected) and Vera enjoyed, the café smelt after gingerbreads, cinnamon and vanilla and most people were in holiday spirit. Truth to be told, Vera was too… and kinda wasn't. She always loved Christmas, but this year…well. The main reason why she loved Christmas – her family – was thousands kilometres away and her outlook for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was… lonely. Matt was spending holidays at Nelsons. Terri went home. And the café was closed, so she couldn't distract herself with work.

 _Merry Christmas, Vera._

She shook off the dark thought, returning Foggy's smile and went to prepare his order. To make the _boring plain Americano_ special, she added a traditional sticker with Matt's name in braille when writing the names on the cups – Foggy smiled at the action, probably thinking she was a sap.

"This will never stop being cute. Thanks," he grinned and Vera handed him the holder, attempting to say goodbye, because… _customers._ Foggy had different plan. "We're leaving on Thursday evening. We settled at 6 p.m., is that okay?"

Vera felt her eyebrows shot up deliberately. Was he talking to her?

"Uhm…leaving where?" she asked unsurely, her mind racing. She didn't agree to anything lately, right? Plus, Thursday was 23rd December. She definitely didn't promise anyone anything on 23rd December. She would remember that.

Foggy frowned, looking at her as if she was crazy. "To my parent's house. For Christmas," he explained as if she was stupid.

Vera was baffled. Why was he telling her when they were leaving with Matt? Did he think Matt needed her approval to leave? She wasn't such a nag, was she?

"And you're me telling this because…?"

At this point, she could tell he was getting confused as well. "To make sure you can make it."

"Make it?"

There was a short silence in which the turning of wheels in both, Vera's and Foggy's head, was the only significant sound. Foggy's was faster.

" _Oh my god,_ he's such a chicken," Foggy blurted out, sighing. Vera was still lost. What. Was. He. Talking about? "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Didn't tell me what?" Vera asked cautiously, slowly realizing where that headed. Clearly, he was talking about Matt.

"That you're coming with us. For the true spirit of Christmas at Nelsons. Mum invited us all over for holidays."

Vera froze, her mind returning several weeks back; she was sitting in a backseat of an expensive car with Matt, personal driver of Tony Stark delivering them to Vera's apartment after a rescue mission. Matt said no to Thanksgiving, because he wanted to stay with Vera. Because she got… well, shot.

" _Should I call your mum to apologize personally?" Matt said, apparently guilty for declining the generous offer._

" _Nah. I'll explained it to her… or you know, give her the short harmless version. She'll be sad, but she'll live - if you promise to come for Christmas instead," Foggy replied with light amusement._

And Vera knew about Matt coming. She would just never _ever_ dream of being invited along. On one hand, it was an amazing offer, a gift from heaven, saving her from spending Christmas alone, or with her laptop and skype call if she was being optimistic. On the other hand, it was a _family visit_. Going to Nelsons was like an equivalent of meeting Matt's parents. She would be scared shitless.

"Earth to Vera?" Foggy called out, probably not for the first time and Vera snapped her head to him.

"What?"

"Is the Thursday evening okay with you? I'll ask Matt as well, naturally, but I need to know your opinion too," he explained slowly, talking to her like with a child. She couldn't quite blame him. She felt like she had capacity of the five-years old at best at the moment.

"I… I think I have an afternoon shift, I'll check and let you know, okay?" Vera tried to smile at him gratefully, but most likely failed. "I really appreciate it. It's a very generous offer."

Foggy beamed. "I really hope you'll come. My mum's dying to meet the woman who stole Matt's heart. See you then! Text me!" And with a quick wave, he was gone, letting Vera to deal with the aftermath of his statement.

' _My mum's dying to meet the woman who stole Matt's heart.'_

Vera felt herself panicking, _her_ _heart_ fighting its way out of her chest. She needed to figure out how to avoid that meeting. And she needed to figure it out _fast._

"Vera, calm down," Matt whispered to her ear gently, as they were sitting in the underground train on 24th morning, heading to one of the scariest trips of her life. Her teeth were actually clattering with _fear._ Last time she was nervous like this was before and during her biochemistry exam – she got C, just because she wasn't able to spell all those stupid compounds like pyridine, piperidine, pyrimidine, as she kept stuttering, unable to stable her jaw while talking.

"N-nev-v-ver s-say an-n-ny-on-ne to c-c-calm d-d-d-down. N-nev-v-ver w-works-s-s," she let out with difficulties, trying her best to ignore his chest she was glued to vibrating with silent laugh. "N-not-t-t fun-n-"

It wasn't news Matt was suicidal and was taking insane risks. Right now, he took the risk of getting bitten by her clattering teeth, silencing her attempts to talk with pressing his lips to hers. For his own safety, she wanted to retreat, but his hand shot to the back of her neck to keep her on place, pulling her even closer, his other hand gingerly stroking her cheek. To her own surprise, Vera found herself melting under the touch, slowly relaxing. When certain part of her brain rebooted, she started returning the kiss, rewarded by Matt's content hum, vibrating against her lips in rather pleasant way. Oh god, _this._ She would _kill_ for more.

"All right, guys. Enough," Foggy sounded _somewhere_ , _far away,_ voice annoyed. Matt caressed her lower lip once more and pulled back. Vera licked her lips, chasing away the feeling of sudden loss. "Explain me one thing. You got yourself shot, practically running in the trajectory of the bullet, but you're afraid of meeting my mother…?"

"Foggy!" Matt complained as Vera snapped her eyes open in horror. Christmas. Encounter with Nelsons. _Oh boy._

"The only thing you need to worry about is that she's gonna squeeze you too tight when hugging you," Foggy hummed. Vera shot him a look. A hug?

"There's gonna be hugging? – No wait, never mind. Can't you tell I got like a really bad flu or something? Or-"

"Vera, it's gonna be just fine. Anna Nelson is one of the nicest people I've ever met and the whole clan is incredibly welcoming. I live with the memory Nelsons' Christmas for months – it's my happy place," Matt explained gently, kissing her temple. They talked about it, of course. Matt loved the Nelsons and he was really excited and genuinely happy, sparks in his eyes and all that, which made the whole situation even _worse._ "And they're gonna love you."

Yeaaaah, no.

Foggy raised an eyebrow. "That's what this is about? You're scared my family won't like you?"

Vera made a small startled guilty sound and Foggy laughed.

"Trust me, Vera. I told them about you few things and they already _do_ like you."

Vera heart stopped and Matt at her side tensed, no doubt hearing it. Vera looked around, her panic reaching unbearable level, searching any escape route.

 _How much is the fine for pulling the emergency cord in the train?_

Matt _kindly_ held her hand as they were standing in front of the door – mainly to keep her from running away. Vera thought the whole neighbourhood heard them ringing the doorbell and instead of her own heartbeat roaring in her ears, she heard hurried steps approaching the door. Matt squeezed her hand tighter just a second before the door _flew_ _open_ , revealing short-haired woman with chubby cheeks and wide smile.

"Foggy, honey!" she cried out and Vera felt this distraction was her last chance to flee. "Come in! Come in, it's freezing."

Matt pulled Vera in before she could escape and she sent a quick prayer to the man upstairs as the door closed. There was no way out of this now. Her heart was about to fail. The prolonged tachycardia wasn't healthy, it would transform into tachyarrhythmia. And then her heart chambers would fibrillate and she would fall down dead on spot. It actually didn't sound that bad. Screw the terrible astringent pain in between…

Mrs. Nelson – at least Vera assumed it was her who welcomed them – pulled her son into a crushing hug and Vera suddenly knew what Foggy had meant when he had said Vera only should fear the hugging part.

"So glad you're here," said, letting him go and turning to Matt, reaching gently for his forearm in brutal contrast to her harshness towards Foggy. "Matt."

"Mrs. Nelson," Matt hummed with wide smile and she smacked his bicep. _"Anna."_

She pulled him into a crushing hug too and Vera couldn't help her lips spreading into a smile, despite the fact she needed to let go Matt's hand. This woman loved Matt unconditionally. She seemed like the kind of woman who had enough love for everyone, so it was no wonder she treated Matt like her own son (or Foggy, for that matter, she reminded herself, because Foggy wasn't her biological son).

"I swear, Matt. If you ever get it right on the first try, I'll give you a medal," she teased him and Vera could see Foggy rolling his eyes.

"You know he does that on purpose for like last four years, right?"

ignored her son's wry comment, looking directly at Vera, who felt the lump in her throat growing. " ," she greeted politely and she would swear the woman's eye twinkled.

"And you must be Vera," she approached her, extending her hand. Vera quickly did the same.

"That would be me. It's a pleasure to meet you."

To her surprise, Foggy's mum lightly hugged her too after they shook hands. Vera didn't need to see Matt's face to know his smile grew wider. "It's good to finally meet you, Vera. Foggy was raving about you a lot," she revealed and Vera felt her knees giving up at the exclaim, unsure how much should she return the affection was showing.

"I really hope he wasn't," she muttered, gaining an innocent smile from him.

"He kinda was," female voice sounded from behind the corner and Mrs. Nelson freed Vera from her arms. Blond girl around Vera's age – perhaps a little younger – was standing in the doorway, leaning onto the doorframe. She was pretty – slim and relatively tall, long blond hair with straight bangs, shining blue eyes. Eyes that were slowly measuring Vera from head to toe. Vera couldn't help gulping.

"Hey, Candy!" Foggy called out enthusiastically, kicking his shoes off, running to meet her halfway as she finally tore her gaze away – allowing Vera to breathe again. Vera didn't watch the reunion – instead, she put her shoes off as well, stripping her coat and scarf.

Matt leaned his cane onto the shoe rack – he must have been in the house enough times to be believed to known the outlines well enough, orienting without the cane just fine. And then Matt got attacked. Well, attacked… Candace – Vera assumed it was Foggy's sister, _Candy,_ – wrapped her arms around Matt lightly, kissing his cheeks.

"Hey, Candace. Merry Christmas," Matt greeted her fondly. Vera had to remind herself not to be jealous. She kinda was. Matt seemed genuinely happy to _see_ her.

Candace gave Vera quick smile and wave. "Hi. I'm Candace, Foggy's sister."

"Hi. I'm Vera. Nice to meet you," she replied, returning the smile somewhat tightly. Something in Candace's eyes stopped her from saying _I'm Matt's girlfriend._

"We have more introductions coming, but first things first – Candace, can you show Vera and Matt where they would be staying? And help them with the stuff. What can I get you? Tea, coffee?" Mrs. Nelson asked them brightly, wincing when something crushed rather loudly somewhere in the house.

"Sounds like twins are already in?" Foggy noted with gentle irony and Vera fought the urge to peek behind the corner to see what they were talking about.

"Yep," Candace confirmed, accenting the p, making her way upstairs. Foggy followed, beckoning to Vera and Matt.

It turned out that Matt and Vera were staying in Candace's room, while she was staying with Foggy in his. Vera felt kinda bad about occupying her room (if Matt came alone, he would probably stayed with Foggy), but who she was to protest.

Once they settled a little, they went downstairs once more – this time to the living room. It was… overfilled with people. The relief was that not all of them stared at the newcomers, because two children, a boy and a girl – and Vera thought they were around four years old – were running around with pillows, occasionally hitting something. A brunette woman was trying to catch them, shouting at them to stop from time to time, while a man, probably the father, was sitting in an armchair close to enormous Christmas tree, watching the mess with tired eyes, protecting the poor symbol of Christmas when needed. Unlike him, an older man was watching the game with certain fondness; if Vera could take a wild guess, she would say it was Foggy's father. Two women – , who Vera had met, and another one she hadn't – were standing in a doorway of what Vera guessed was kitchen; once noticed them coming, she approached them, repeating her question about coffee. Vera tentatively shoved her a box with the sweets she baked and finished with Matt's help, apologizing there wasn't more of it. Mrs. Nelson thanked her with another warming smile nevertheless.

Foggy and Matt started the rounds, greeting with everyone, sometimes Foggy being the one who introduced Vera, sometimes Matt. Vera met Edward Nelson, Foggy's father, his deceased brother's wife Melissa and her son Bill. Bill's wife was Rita, but Vera didn't have a chance to be properly introduced, because before she could have been, she was hit by a pillow aimed to her chest. She caught the weapon with wide eyes, never seeing it coming; funnily enough, Matt probably did.

"Arnie!" Rita cried out, sounding horrified and Vera snapped from her shock, looking for the attacker. He was hiding behind 's armchair, carefully peeking out.

"What are the rules? Am I supposed to fall to the ground since I got hit?" Vera blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, eyeing the boy hesitantly. She could see his eyes grow wide.

"No. You sleep!" the kid exclaimed, not leaving his hideout. Vera looked around, finding Candace on the couch with a tablet – she didn't seem to be paying attention and Vera didn't want to disturb her by attacking the couch as well. So she shrugged and placed the pillow on the nearest thing she found. Which was Matt's shoulder. She folded her palms and laid her head on her newest bed – she could feel Matt's chuckle as she did so.

What was more important though, she could hear Arnie's muffled laugh and quick steps, soon feeling him to pulling her skirt lightly. She didn't react, keeping the act. This time, she heard the girl giggle – she still didn't get to know her name.

"Do you think she's cursed?" she asked, sounding astonished and Vera fought a smile. They were so sweet.

"Maybe. How do we break the curse?" Foggy answered instead and Vera hoped that bucket of cold water wouldn't do. It wouldn't, right? They were inside, the parents wouldn't allow that. What else- oh god, please, no tickling.

Vera heard someone face-palm, ridiculously loud slap. "Like The Sleeping Beauty!" the girl announced, making it sound as if everyone else was stupid for not figuring it out. Vera's heart jumped and Matt's hand inconspicuously stroked her tight in calming motion.

"I don't kiss her!" the boy protested rapidly, disgusted and Vera heard someone laugh silently.

"Maybe I should," Foggy hummed and Vera felt Matt's body stiffen – did Foggy mean it? It was really hard not to open her eyes at this point. She hoped Foggy would go for her cheek and not mouth at least.

Before Foggy could do something that could possibly cost him a broken nose (from either Matt _or Vera_ , to be honest), Matt's shoulder was replaced by his hand as her support and his lips met hers in only passing touch. She fluttered her eyes open as the kids giggled, mischievousness in their wide eyes and ran away to hide, apparently not caring they still only had one pillow.

Vera received one more kiss on her forehead and silent _love you_ she might as well just imagined.

What she didn't imagine though was one pair of eyes watching her with palpable displeasure as Rita introduced herself and her kids, Arnie and Amy. Vera was starting understanding Candace was not exactly fond of her. In fact, she might actually even hate her. And the reason seemed to be pretty obvious.

Hint – it wasn't for Vera stealing her room.

They somehow made it through the afternoon. Vera was trying to be conversational, chatting with everyone and anyone, mostly being supported by Matt by her side. Candace wasn't shooting her murderous looks – she wasn't in the room, helping her mum with the dinner and they wouldn't let in anyone else than them and the other . Well, _Melissa_. Foggy's mother wanted Vera to call her Anna as well, exactly to avoid this kind of confusion, but it seemed disrespectful. Yet, Vera tried.

The dinner was fantastic. For the first time in a while, the kids were silent, their mouth full. Or maybe they were simply stunned by the food – Vera sure was. Not only because she wasn't used to that kind of a Christmas dinner, but also because it was freaking delicious – she shared the thought, of course. And Matt did. Pretty much everyone did. It was sweet.

"So… how long you've been together?" Foggy's sister, who was uncomfortably sitting right opposite to Matt, while Foggy was sitting opposite to Vera, asked rather nonchalantly. Vera wasn't buying that tone.

"Uhm… about three months," she answered awkwardly, not feeling good under Candace's gaze. There was just _something_ … she didn't like it. She understood Candace obviously wasn't fond of her, but there was something more in this.

"Huh. Nice. Uhm. I hear a little accent? You're not from New York, are you?"

"No, no I'm definitely not. I'm from Trutnov, Czechia."

Foggy's sister raised an eyebrow. Vera didn't blame her, no one ever knew.

"Tiny state. About ten mil people. Heart of Europe," Foggy stepped in, apparently proud of knowing it.

Candace shot her brother a wounded glare. Uh-uh. This was getting rather dramatic. No one else dared to join the conversation.

"Well, what brought you to New York then?" Candace continued and maybe Vera was being paranoid, but she would swear she heard another question in that tone. _Why the hell didn't you stay where you belong?_

"Lots of things. I… dropped out of college-"

"Dropped out?" she asked, sounding surprised. "Or got kicked out?"

"Candace!" Anna admonished her, shooting her a warning glance. Vera felt Matt next to her tense – he knew it was a sore subject. Also, he might be feeling the jealousy radiating from Candace or not liking she was prying.

"No, it's-it's okay. Valid question, I guess," Vera laughed uneasily. "I dropped out after second year. Finished my exams, decided to quit, because I never really wanted to study that."

"What did you study, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked sweetly, too politely, so her mother couldn't say a word and Vera tried her best not to grit her teeth.

"Med school."

"Whoa. So you went to med school while you never really wanted to be a doctor?" From the corner of her eye, Vera saw Matt's fingers twitch. She wasn't the only one irritated in here. He wisely stayed silent though.

"It was a little complicated," Vera answered evasively with a tight smile.

She thought Foggy kicked his sister under the table.

"Sorry. So, what do you do now? You study here, or…?"

"No, no, I just… I just work in a café." Vera was starting to get what exactly was that about. Candace could as well have _humiliation_ written right over her head.

"Pretty big change from studying to be a doctor. I'm in my first year. Law. Columbia, New Yorker with whole heart." _Like Matt._ _Okay, got it._ Candace hated her. She couldn't stand Vera, because Vera was dating Matt. And she wasn't being very subtle about it, apparently determined to make this difficult. _Awesome_. "Never mind. So you work here. That means… a visa? For how long? A year?"

"Candy, I think that's enough interrogation for now," Foggy noted, noticing more and more people were growing uncomfortable.

"Just making a conversation. Vera?"

"For now, yes." Vera felt the colour being drained from her face, her heart hammering in her chest, pulse loud in her ears. Alright, Foggy's sister didn't like her, but this was something else. It wasn't just about humiliation. This was clearly an attack, it was… it was a _court_ and the family was _the_ _jury_. Vera was the defendant. Candace was the prosecutor. And she just hit the most vulnerable spot. Vera could see Matt paled slightly as well, his grip around the flatware so tight his knuckles went white. It wasn't good. Because in this metaphor, Matt was _the judge._

Candace aimed and she hit the target. Because Vera was suddenly realizing they never talked about it with Matt. They never talked about… how long she was planning to stay. They never talked about future. Well, to be fair, things were a little crazy for most of the time, but… yeah. They never talked about the future. They never stopped to wonder if _they had a future_.

"Oh… Matt, you okay? You knew that, right? So, Vera, you haven't decided if you're staying longer yet? That's… interesting," Candace wondered and Vera swallowed against the growing lump in her throat, feeling tears – mostly tears of fear and panic – gathering in her eyes. She fought them bravely and cleared her throat.

"No, I haven't. If you'll excuse me…"

She rose slowly from the chair, wanting to look rather calm. She probably failed, but she was confident she managed to keep her tears from rolling down her cheeks before she reached the stairwell, so no one could see them. Matt would sense them but he seemed quite out himself, so she wasn't sure if he had capacity to do so. She sighed in relief, shaky exhale, when she finally close the door behind her and leaned her back against it, feeling her knees turning into jello.

 _Jesus._ She was nervous about meeting the Nelsons. It was like meeting the family and family could be overprotective and they could affect partner's opinion significantly, possibly negatively. But this, this was far beyond her imagination. She sobbed, quickly muffling the sound with her palm. She didn't know why. No one would come after her. She was a stranger in this house. She wasn't welcomed here. The only reason why she had come here was Matt. And that reason possibly just disappeared. Because he realized she might go away.

Vera _didn't know_ if she was going away. _Jesus,_ she was here a little over three months. She barely settled down. Mostly thanks to Terri. Matt helped a lot. And she wasn't even able to tell him she was only sure about staying a year and she didn't think further. She wasn't able to say to him if it even was worth being with her, if she would _stay_.

She knew couldn't stay now. The four walls of _Candace's room_ were getting closer and they didn't want her here. She was occupying a room of the girl who apparently _hated_ her. She wasn't welcomed here. She had _no right_ to be here.

Vera didn't have much stuff there. She didn't even unpack her backpack yet. She pulled her pullover over her head, looking around, throwing the backpack over her shoulders. She didn't think she forgot anything. The only thing she didn't take was a paper bag with gifts. She would leave it here, it was okay. It wasn't like Matt and Foggy didn't deserve their presents. She wiped tears from her cheeks, and with calming breath in and out, she headed to the door.

The moment she opened them, she froze.

Her way was blocked. By someone who was rather pale, mouth twisted in strange grimace, hard to read. His eyes were hidden behind his glasses, his posture intimidating though. She gulped, blinking her tears away, opening her mouth to bravely ask him to move from her way.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded in low voice before she could speak and took a step closer, now literally standing in the door. He sounded… _wounded_.

 _Christ,_ she was such an ass.

" _I'm sorry, Matt._ I should have- should- it doesn't matter. I'm leaving now."

"Why would you leave?" he asked softly, looking honestly baffled. _Why?_ What kind of a question was that?

"I'm not welcomed here-"

"That's not true. I want you here, Foggy does, Anna, they all-"

She chuckled humourlessly. "All? Really, Matt? Were we at the same dinner? Jesus, Matt…. Your eyes were freaking gleaming when we came, did you know? You were _so excited_ about coming here, talking about how great it always is. It's not. Because I'm here. I only brought drama. I'm not wanted here-"

"Candace will come around-"

"But that's it, Matt! She shouldn't be coming around in the first place! It's Christmas, family should be together. And you _are._ I shouldn't be here. And it's okay." She didn't sound okay. Her voice was breaking on every other word. Jesus, she wasn't too loud, was she? Her leaving at the dinner was bad enough. She didn't need another scene. She needed to leave, _now_.

She wanted to slide through the door, but he was still blocking it. "Matt, step away."

"No," he said simply, but resolutely, taking another small step and she mirrored his move, taking a step back. "You're staying. Please, for me. I want to spend Christmas with my family."

"But that's my point-"

"You are my family."

Vera felt her jaw falling, automatically walking backwards as he took another step closer. He closed the door; she didn't even realize she was in the middle of the room again. But she didn't really care. Because what the hell?

"You're not blood-related. None of these people are. Family has a different meaning for me for a while now. These are people I care for. And I care for _you_. Vera, I-" he crossed the distance between them and she was actually too frozen to move, letting him border her face with both hands. "You must- You _know_ how important you are."

Did she?

Vera did the worse thing she could do. She sobbed and she didn't manage to muffle it in time, _again_. He sighed, kissing her forehead and she squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her trembling lips together.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I should have told you, but it never came up and it's a lame excuse, but it just didn't and I haven't think about it yet. I'm not even here for four months so I just haven't. I should know by now or at least I should have told you that I'm not decided yet, but that there is a possibility of me leaving in September, so you shouldn't be… you shouldn't be with me because- because-"

She lost the train of her thoughts, unable to continue, because there was simply _nothing_ to say and she couldn't speak, the lump in her throat too big and suffocating and _oh my god,_ she was sobbing to his shirt, because he pulled her into his arms, embracing so tightly she could barely breathe.

"It's okay, Vera. It's okay, _it's okay,_ I've got you," he whispered to her hair and she did the exactly opposite of what she was supposed to do – she wrapped her arms around him as well. He relaxed his tense posture slightly, releasing a shaky breath. She could hear and _feel_ his strong heartbeat.

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are. And I forgive you, because there's nothing to be sorry for." Soothing voice. Steady heartbeat. What?

"But-"

"I thought so, okay? I thought you have visa for a year. People usually get those. Actually hearing it was a little rough, but basically I already knew," he explained, voice sounding a little sad, but aiming for comforting.

Her mind was racing, while her body froze, air caught in her chest. He knew?! But if he knew…? So he wanted _this_ , whatever _this_ was, to only last a year? Was it his plan? She couldn't quite believe that, but…

"So… you…don't mind. You're okay with me leaving in September?" she mumbled to his shirt barely comprehensible, little baffled. Perhaps he wasn't as much in love as he claimed to be? But that was… he seemed genuinely… well, _upset_ was an understatement, almost _desperate_ , when she was about to be killed, so…

His grip loosened. "I'm not _okay with you leaving, Vera_ ," he spitted out.

Now, she was completely lost. She stepped away, looking up to his face. Glasses. Right; worse than the mask. As if he understood her uneasiness about them, he put them away, tossing them on the bed.

She just stared at him, not sure how to react. He massaged the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes as if he was tired. Then he looked at her with big, intense eyes, burning, glaring to her soul.

"I'm _not_ okay with you leaving," he repeated and she frowned, trying to figure out his unreadable expression. _"I don't want you to leave._ But I get that you haven't thought about what's gonna happen in about a year. Sometimes I don't even think about tomorrow, because I'm not sure if there's even gonna be another day. So I don't think a year ahead either. It's alright. You have plenty of time to decide."

That's what she had thought. Before. And he… he _didn't_ want her to leave. She felt huge weight lifted from her shoulders. "O-okay."

"Good."

"Good," she parroted dully.

"Now…" He touched her shoulders lightly and she blinked in surprise. What- he slid his thumbs under the straps of her backpack, letting it slowly slip down her arms, until it fell on the floor with a muffled _thud_. And since his hands were so conveniently touching hers… he squeezed them lightly and she hesitantly returned the affection, making the corners of his lips rise.

He kissed her forehead once again and she closed her eyes, feeling blessed. She felt his lips on her cheek, gentle, careful. One of his hands ran up her arm and neck, stopping at the border of her neck and jaw. His lips must have been agonizingly close, because she could feel his hot breath on hers own, _tasting it._ Was he waiting for her to lean in? She gulped at the idea, shiver running down her spine. She gathered her courage, inconspicuously moving forward. It was enough.

Their lips met, just a passing touch of butterfly wings, tickling. She sighed contentedly and he kissed her again, pressing to the back of her neck, pulling her in just slightly, caressing her lower lip. And again. Again… she realized she was standing there like made of stone or ice, her body unfreezing, hand shooting to his hair, interweaving hesitantly. She could do that right? They were… good? She didn't quite get _how_ , but it seemed they were.

She felt him smile into the kiss, and she couldn't help sighing in relief. Small chuckle escaped him and his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Thank you," she breathed, unsure where it came from. But it felt _right_. She was grateful. He forgave her. He wanted her. One way or another.

His lips stopped their movement, freezing. She snapped her eyes open, meeting his warm irises. Beautiful. Kind. Loving. Hypnotizing.

"Just don't go anywhere, okay?" he asked her rather nonsensically; she had no idea if he was talking about tonight, about Christmas at Nelsons in general, or in nine-months horizon. She didn't want to think about it.

"Okay," she breathed, slightly dazed and she saw his eyes burn brighter, the image making her heart shiver. "I…I don't want to. I love you, Matt."

His gaze softened and he rewarded her with another sweet kiss.

"I love you too."

"Who's that?" she asked silently, only for Matt's ears.

He sighed. "Candace." Her body went rigid and she felt herself panicking. "She came to apologize."

It took Vera a minute to process what he just said. "Oh."

"Hmm." He breathed in to call out for her, but Vera's hand shoot to his chest, stopping him. He gave her a puzzled look.

"Maybe we should… uhm. At least sit?" He seemed even more confused. "Matt, I'm cuddling with a guy she's in love with. _In her bed."_ She straightened, attempting to do as she offered – his arms locked around her, immobilizing her. "Matt-"

"Come in! _She's not,"_ he whispered to her ear as the door opened, revealing Foggy's sister indeed. With two cups of… something.

Vera felt like a total bitch, just lying in Matt's arms, she wasn't kidding. Candace grimaced for a split second, before letting herself further to the room.

"Uhm… hey. Sorry to interrupt. I just… came to talk? Apologize?" she offered hesitantly, eyeing Vera as if she was about to kick her out. _From her own room._

"I think that would be my cue," Matt hummed, kissing Vera's temple, freeing her from his embrace, reaching for his glasses and discretely disappearing. Vera sat up, feeling probably twice as unsure as the girl in front of her.

Candace extended one of her hands, offering a cup. "Uhm. Eggnog. Not…not sure if you drink it and if it's a thing in Czechia, but… yeah."

Vera couldn't help it. One corner of her lips twitched. "Yeah, eggnog is a thing in Czechia. I would… offer you a seat, but since it's your room, it seems quite rude."

For the first time, she could see Candace honestly smile at her, sitting to her chair. "Not right now. Even though I admit no one really asked me if I'm willing to give it up."

"I'm sorry. For kicking you out. And for… ruining Christmas for you."

Candace blinked in surprise and then burst out laughing. It wasn't exactly a happy laugh, cutting to Vera's ears as razor blades. Vera winced.

"Okay, you're really annoying," Candace exclaimed, giving Vera incredulous look. Vera was… confused. What did she do so wrong that Foggy's sister changed her mind and instead of an apology, she went for insults?

"Sorry, not what I meant to say. I came here to say sorry," she looked Vera straight to her eyes, her gaze burning with honesty. "And I _am_ sorry. I shouldn't have stuck my nose to your business. I shouldn't have been hostile. It wasn't fair to you."

Vera escaped the eye contact, the memory of Candace's words stinging in her insides. The mean spark in her eyes, when she recognized she hit the right spot. Vera took a deep breath, trying to shake it off. She quite couldn't. Then again… she couldn't actually blame Candace for hating her, could she?

"Okay. Apology accepted," Vera said, flickering to Candace's face, quickly returning to her cup and sipping the hot liquid before she could change her mind. Whoa. That was _strong_. She sipped again. She could use strong right now.

" _So annoying."_

Vera's eyebrow shot up and she looked up again. Candace was… smiling. There was no malicious tone in her words. Vera didn't understand.

"I had a bad break up," the girl blurted out of blue. Vera frowned. What? "Like two, three weeks before Thanksgiving. I was sad. Then I got pissed, obviously. And I was… really looking forward Thanksgiving. Can you guess why?"

Vera watched her potential competition, having a moment of clarity. Oh. _Oh._ "You were excited to spend time with your family…" Candace gave her a look. "…and Matt would come."

"Yeah…" Candace bit her lip. "I guess it's not surprising I have a crush on him since Foggy brought him home."

"Can't say I blame you," Vera noted, shocked Candace was sharing something like this with her. She did and did not appreciate it at the same time. On one hand, it made her blood boil, poisonous feeling of jealousy biting her stomach. On the other hand… Candace was letting her in, making her apology sincere.

Candace grimaced. "He's always so nice. I thought… _maybe_. He wouldn't try anything before, but I thought come on, I'm in college now and I'm studying _law;_ if anything, I could ask him to… tutor me and things would somehow work out."

Blood boiling. The boiling was definitely winning at that point. Vera had nothing to say, at least nothing that wasn't a curse, so she focused on her eggnog.

"Yeah, well. Matt never came. Because he stayed with his girlfriend, playing nurse," she said with hint of bitterness and Vera couldn't help interrupting her.

"I told him to come," she protested, unable to keep her voice calm. She gripped her cup tighter, remembering she _needed_ to be calm. No matter how surreal it was, this was still an apology. Weird one, but an apology nevertheless. "Just for the record."

"Noted," Candace hummed and continued. "I'm gonna be honest. I hated you at that point. When I learnt mum invited you for Christmas as well, I was ready to make a scene. And I did, when no one was around. Anyway… I… mum knows me, she had an idea why I minded so much, so she asked me to be polite. And I really wanted to try, convincing myself I can handle it. And I thought, wow, that woman, she's gotta be really _something_. Apart from one Christmas when Matt came totally ruined by his own break-up, there were never hints of him dating. So that girlfriend of his, she must be really special. Like a supermodel or some girl who skipped few years of college, real brainiac. Possibly both. Foggy made you sort of a demigod, okay. And then…"

Vera couldn't say this wasn't stinging even more. "…and then I came," Vera finished dully, mind racing.

Matt was barely dating. Candace thought it was because he was picky. She got the point, okay? Why would Matt pick _Vera_ from all people? And ditched his _family_ on Thanksgiving for her?

"Yeah. No offense. You're pretty, okay. You made it through two years of med school, so there gotta be something in here." Candace decently patted on her own temple. "I was a little biased, I see that, of course. But seriously. You were no supermodel, you were no brainiac, there was literally _nothing_ what should make him pick _you_."

Vera closed her eyes in pain. She knew all of these stuff. But Matt… he always made her feel special. He claimed she was beautiful (and she appreciated it, even thought she was well-aware he was blind, at least to some level), he made her feel wanted. He never let her think she was stupid or below him, just because he was a lawyer and she was…well, a barista. She loved him for it, apart from like a million different reasons. Hearing how leaping to the eye their differences were to someone else... it was making breathing difficult.

"I was wrong. And I'm sorry for that too," Candace offered in gently voice and Vera snapped her eyes open, realizing with horror that she had few tears on her cheeks. "You _are_ beautiful, Vera, and as far as I can tell, Matt thinks the same, obviously. You might not be studying med school at the moment, or _law_ or quantum physics, but that doesn't always say everything about intelligence. You solved the biggest mystery of the universe."

 _I…did?_ Vera wanted to ask, but somehow her brain-mouth connection short-circuited.

"You figured out a way to Matt Murdock's heart and that's one hell of trick you pulled there. You seem to understand him in a way not even Foggy, or perhaps _anyone_ does. And I'm starting to get it, okay? Why he loves you. You're also _good_. I was a bitch and you forgave me-"

Vera felt a tiny stung of guilt at that, because that wasn't entirely true.

" _-and_ you managed _–_ which is actually really scary – to fulfil the _The way to a man's heart is through his stomach_ saying. He _adores_ your candy. Whenever he's here for Christmas, he praises my mum's turkey, ham and everything, but he never eats our candy. _Ever_. I saw him sneaking to kitchen for yours like three times already. By the way, I can't blame him. It's really good. Anyway. What… what I'm trying to say is that I'm… glad he found someone he's happy with, even though it means he's ditching his family on Thanksgiving for your sprained ankle."

Vera's head was spinning, her jaw somewhere in her lap in shock. She could say with confidence that she did _not_ see that coming. There was lump in her throat and she had no idea how to get it out – when she tried to clear it, it didn't quite help.

"Thank you. It… it really means a lot, Candace," she let out with difficulties, voice somewhat hoarse.

"Well… there are rare times when I am _not_ a total bitch, despite the fact it's probably hard for you to believe it now," she hummed, drinking her eggnog in almost one go. Silence fell. Vera guessed Candace was lost in her thoughts as much as she was.

"Is… is that was Foggy told you? That I sprained by ankle?"

Candace looked at her in surprise. "Yeah. Didn't you?"

Vera hoped she wasn't about to screw up. She smiled tightly. "Well, that's not exactly what happened. It was a little more complicated than that. Can you keep a secret?"

Candace seemed offended. "Sure thing."

Vera reached for her phone, flipping through her gallery. It didn't take long – she didn't have many photos there. The photo with the Avengers was there though. She eyed Candace once more, taking a deep calming breath, showing her the selfie, with alternated Matt's outfit, obviously. She didn't even have the original picture.

Candace eyes went wide with shock and she shot Vera an incredulous look, before she checked the picture again.

"What the hell?"

"I was in an accident. Near the Avengers tower. They were… testing some new tech and I got lucky – read _shot_. It hit my femoral artery. I don't remember much. But I can tell that if they didn't have advanced med technology as well, I would probably still be limping."

Candace eyed her with disbelief, lips parted, stunned silence.

"Matt came. Helped me to get home. Foggy caught us on our way with his offer about Thanksgiving. I _told him_ , that he should come, okay? I might be Czech, but even I can tell it's a big deal."

"Hey, I have no medical education, but I remember what femoral artery is. That's no laughing matter. And you told Matt to come to us? I get why he didn't want to leave you," she said, still shocked, touching the screen. "Are there any other pic-"

"No-" Vera blurted out, hand shooting to her phone, but it was too late. Candace slid to the previous one. Vera had an idea what was there even without looking.

"Whoa- I'm not sure I wanted to see that," Candace exclaimed with wide eyes, shoving the phone back to Vera's hands. Vera hid her face with her palms.

"Yeah, I get that. Stark sent it to me later. Printed. A4 format," she murmured, her face no doubt burning red.

To her shock, Candace laughed wholeheartedly. Vera was starting to understand what Matt meant when he had said _Candace wasn't in love with him._ Just crushing at. "Good for you. Did you frame it?"

Vera's hands fell in favour to shot her an incredulous look on her own. "No! Jesus. No one should ever supposed to see that."

Candace snorted maybe too easily. "Well, like I said. Good for you. You both seem genuinely happy."

" _Oh my god,"_ Vera whined, face-palming again.

Knock on the door interrupted her attempts to hide from the whole world.

"Yeah?" Candace called out since Vera wasn't able to. But she did look at the new comer. Matt. His lips were twitching inconspicuously. He had been listening. Well, at least _someone_ was having fun.

"We're going to the mass in twenty minutes. You wanna come?"

They both did. Candace sneaked out just like Matt did, taking empty cups with her and the moment she closed the door, Matt pulled Vera in his arms. She buried her face to his chest, which was vibrating with silent laugh.

"This isn't funny, Matt. She saw the photo I hoped no one would ever see."

He took her face to his hands, making her to look up. "I have no idea which photo you're talking about," he claimed in pretended confusion.

She rolled her eyes. "You _know_ which one."

He shook his head. "No."

Vera frowned, actually doubting. He must have known, right? "The one where we are…uhm."

"Where we are…?"

"…Kissing."

"Kissing? Kissing how?" he demanded, expression curious, but with amused spark in his eyes. He knew _exactly_ what she was talking about, smug bastard. His thumb traced her lower lip in light touch, teasing. "Perhaps a little reminder…?"

Vera would smack his chest or something, but then their lips collided rather heatedly, way different than previously that night. And she freaking enjoyed it, responding his hungry lunges eagerly, returning his sucking and biting with enthusiasm, her hands traveling his body, while his fingers interweaved in her hair, his other hand finding a way to her bottom, Not leaving an inch between their bodies.

As if she snapped he fingers, he retreated, pecking her lips. "We should go."

"Now?" she asked, horrified. Her hair must have been a mess, her lips had to be freaking swollen – she could see _his_ were –, and her heart was beating like crazy as she was fighting for breath. She wasn't the only one. She resisted the urge to check if the lower part of his body reacted as well. "I can't go to _a mass_ now. I'm gonna be struck by a lightening or something, holy wrath for sinning and all that!"

His lips twitched. "I'll protect you. Plus, all we did was expressing love."

"I definitely sensed _lust_ in there, saint Matthew," she murmured, straightening her hair uselessly. He gave her another kiss, slow, tender, turning her knees weak.

"Better?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's more acceptable, I think."


	2. Chapter 2

Icy fingers touched her side and she jerked awake, violently woken up from a rather pleasant dream. She rolled away from the source, almost falling on the floor – the arms attached to these cold fingers caught her before she could hit the hard ground. Her heart skipped a beat, before her brain woke up. She was at Nelson's. She was sharing not exactly wide bed with Matt. Thinking about it, the arms embracing her firmly felt familiar.

Vera took one calming breath, ordering her heart to stop freaking out. She ran her hand down her face.

" _Jesus,_ Matt," she complained and slowly opening her eyes, meeting his apologizing expression. He looked… wide awake.

"Sorry," he hummed, pulling her closer, so she wasn't on the edge, the icy fingertips touching the skin on her side. She hissed, feeling she was getting goosebumps. She frowned at him, noticing he was wearing a shirt and pants. Had he gone somewhere? Considering how cold his hands were, it made sense. And now when she was thinking about it, she remembered his lips and breathed ' _sleep, I'll be right back.'_

"Where were you? … Were you building a snowman or what?"

The corners of his lips twitched. "No. Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Matt, it's too early to make Frozen references," she exclaimed, her last words transferring into a yawn.

"Make what? … I went to church."

Vera's eyebrows shot up deliberately and she had to bite her tongue before she could blurt out _'again?'_. They went together to midnight mass what could be hours ago. He went there again? She also swallowed _'why?'_ , waiting for him to elaborate.

"I just wanted to visit my father's grave," he explained quietly and Vera felt like an ass. Right. That made sense. "And wish happy holidays to Father Lantom."

Yeah, that made even more sense. Except her brain wasn't as rebooted as she thought. "Wait… so you went to _your_ church. What time is it?" she demanded, horrified. Jesus, did she sleep in? Was it like… eleven already? That would be so awkward.

Matt smiled, lightly kissing her worries away. "It's almost nine."

 _What time had he got up?!_

Vera decided she didn't want to think about it, it made her feel tired. She rather gave him one kiss on her own.

"Merry Christmas, Vera." Her mouth somehow formed a smile without her being in control.

"Merry Christmas, Matt."

It turned out Vera didn't miss anything. The younger part of Nelson's household was getting up as well (apart from the twins) and slowly made their way to the beautiful Christmas tree with multiple presents under it. Vera herself sneaked _very inconspicuously_ before she went to bed, meeting Foggy, who was placing the presents too. They politely ignored each other.

The family gathered in the living room, each with a mug of tea or coffee, in a holiday spirit, comfy and slightly ridiculous sweaters included. Vera didn't have one – was so kind to find one for her, so she didn't feel left out. Vera would swear Matt couldn't look silly, like _ever_ , but the sweater with a reindeer with a huge red nose did it. When Candace came with several Santa Claus hats, one for each man, it was just an icing on the cake. It was perfect and it whispered _home_ and it almost made Vera cry.

And then the gift-giving started. Vera got nice earrings from Foggy, while Candace got a whole set – Vera thought it was fair enough, actually happy she wasn't giving Candace any more reasons for disliking her. But truth to be told, Candace seemed to be just fine; if she couldn't stand Vera (and Vera liked to think it wasn't the case anymore), she was an excellent actor.

The next present she got was significantly bigger. Vera wasted one useless surprised look on Matt, who – feeling her gaze – gave her an approximation of a smile. She felt her heart speed up, unfairly excited. She wasn't good at receiving present, always worried she would react wrong, unnaturally. She slowly unwrapped the present, breathing in and out before looking.

Dark blue smooth fabric. Many, many black decorative flowers. A different kind of fabric, light and airy, almost translucent. Vera blinked in surprise. A dress? Her gaze flickered back to Matt, whose expression was enigmatic – Vera thought he might be waiting for her reaction, any indication of her liking the gift – or disliking it. Yeah, the second option was not an option; she already adored the colour.

Vera carefully pulled the dress out, astonished. They were _beautiful_. The top was indeed covered in rich decoration, the airy skirt slightly widening; the two parts were divided with a simple ribbon. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. She had no words. Because they were… boat-neck. Vera loved boat-neck dress – after all, she wanted to take one to the benefit with Matt, but in the end choose another dress, which she thought would feel better under his fingers.

It was… she was speechless and she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Oh, Matt, you should be seeing her face. It's priceless. She's like… awe-struck," Foggy informed him and Vera finally snapped from her trance. Well, _awe-struck_ was actually quite precise. Matt smiled inconspicuously.

"So you like it?" he asked almost hesitantly and Vera shot him incredulous look.

"Are kidding me? _Like it?_ Matt, it's… it's… beautiful," she let out in disbelief, watching his smile spread wider. Speaking of beautiful…. Dammit, she wanted to toss the glasses away. She looked at the dress again. "I wanted to… I actually wanted to take boat-neck dress to the benefit we went toget-"

She stopped in the middle of the sentence, realization striking her. There was _something_ in his smile…

"-but you already knew that," she finished, feeling her heart speeding up even more. The dress she had almost picked… it had been boat-neck. It had had top with many, many flowers. Fluffy skirt. Her jaw fell to her lap. It was similar, wasn't it? Just the colour was different. _How_ was that possible? He couldn't- right?

"Terri might have mentioned you had the benefit dress tailored," he hummed, his smile transforming into mischievous as he was well aware she was silently gaping at him. It _was_ the dress.

"But- but-"

"And the tailor already had your measurements."

"Terri had no idea who made the dress!" she protested, finally choking out a whole sentence that made sense, astonished he even talked to Terri about this.

Matt shrugged. " did."

Vera's head spun. She didn't know she could be _more surprised._ Matt had talked to Nina to get her a perfect gift. She almost had to blink away her tears. She wasn't tearing, _yet_ , but she was close.

"Edna is pretty scary, by the way."

"You talked to Edna?" she blurted out, something growing in her chest – she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. She was a fucking mess.

"She sounded pretty offended when I asked her if she kept the drafts she made for you. She also said you were quite an inspiration," he exclaimed, beaming, apparently satisfied someone else than him lived in the illusion of her being amazing.

Someone cleared their throat. Vera jumped in her seat, realizing after relatively long time they weren't alone in the room.

" _Thank you,"_ she said simply, hoping her tone and her body told him how much she loved her gift.

"You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Vera."

Vera quickly checked her surroundings. It was okay to peck his cheek, right? Candace could handle that? Vera gave him a light kiss, whispering _thank you_ once again.

"Aaaalright, you two saps. Let Foggy unwrap some of his presents too, okay?" Foggy grunted, reaching under the Christmas tree. He picked Vera's. After such a beautiful moment, she expected her gift to Foggy being quite a shock. Well…

Vera kept the dresses in her lap, fingers itchy for touching the fabric over and over again. She watched Foggy to fight with the decorative paper, winning. He froze when seeing package with kilo of peanuts, frowning. Vera felt her cheeks burning as Matt's best friend looked around his family, finding the source of this peculiar present; he stopped at Vera's since all his relatives wore surprised expression and Matt's head was slightly tilted to side as well.

"Thanks…?" Foggy offered unsurely, attempting a smile. Vera rolled her eyes.

"It's stupid. You complained the other day that you're being paid peanuts. So I thought you might be up for some raise," she squeaked and Foggy's eyes went wide. Vera felt all gazes on her, wishing she could sink through the floor. _Jesus Christ,_ this was a terrible idea. From the corner of her eye, she could see Matt's lips twitching.

Finally, Foggy burst out laughing, Matt joining him first, while the others reluctantly laughed too. Matt leaned to Vera, kissing her temple, chuckling. Foggy snorted.

"Okay, that's a good one. Definitely the most original gift I ever got," Foggy stated with a grin and Vera raised her gaze.

"There are two tickets to cinema on the back of the package. You know, for you to hang out. Outside Josie's."

"Thanks, Vera."

Vera smiled at him shakily, happy that at least he took it as a champ. Few other gifts ensued, before Matt got his from Vera as well. He was much more careful than Foggy, unwrapping it with his skilful fingers. Vera wondered if he already knew what was inside – he probably did.

Once he opened it, he traced the tie and the clip on it with a light smile, turning to her.

"I don't deserve a rise or an opportunity to hang out, huh?" he teased her and Vera bit her lip, trying to come with a suitable response. Of course, this wasn't the main gift she wanted to give him – but she couldn't say that, not out loud. But honestly, it was _lame._

Vera shrugged. "Well, starting Nelson and Murdock was your idea, so it's totally your fault you're not sitting in all steel and glass offices and earning a fortune-" The corners of his lips twitched higher. _"And_ if I gave you two tickets to somewhere, I would be basically suggesting you should take _me_ there, so… we all know you're a workaholic anyway."

He chuckled and kissed her temple once more. "Thank you. What colour is it? Please tell me it's dark blue like your dress."

Vera sighed in relief, feeling his thank you was genuine despite the… ordinariness.

"I could _tell_ you that, of course. But no, it's… whiskey brown with crimson reflections." His smile softened, hopefully remembering she once described his eyes as whiskey-coloured.

"Lady knows her shit," Candace hummed, making her way for another gift. But she never reached her destination, stopping in her track, bending down.

"Hey, what's that?" her curious voice asked and everyone turned to her on instinct. She picked up something from the floor. Something, which was rather small. And wrapped in decorative paper. Vera subconsciously reached to her pocket on her skirt.

It was empty.

 _Oh shit._

The Nelson's looked at each other with confusion, while Matt tilted his head, observing the object in his own way. And Vera mentally counted to ten, taking a deep breath.

"It's mine," Vera admitted and all heads snapped to her, baffled. Candace handed her the small package, eyebrow raised in expectation. "I… I thought it would be better to… give it Matt in private."

"Hey, why is Matt getting two presents? Why did I only get one from you?" Foggy complained, but his voice was uneasy. Matt frowned, hearing the emotion behind it. Foggy _knew_ what was in there. His heartbeat must be doing funny things.

Vera had texted him few weeks ago. She had made an amazing finding, immediately thinking of Matt and Christmas gifts. The problem had been… she had had no clue if it was a good idea to give it to Matt, afraid it might make him upset. Foggy had admitted it _might_ , but he apparently hated her for not discovering it on his own, encouraging her. So… well. When Vera had learned about going to Nelsons, she had decided it wouldn't be appropriate to show everyone, because it was very personal, planning to give Matt one more present in private.

Yeah, that went well.

"I dare you to guess, Foggy," she deadpanned, shoving the gift back.

"Come on! Now the curiosity will torture us!" Candace exclaimed and Vera squeezed her eyes shut, mentally counting to ten, her mind racing. What should she do? She felt Matt's sightless gaze burning through her curiously, just like everyone else's. To hell with it.

" _Fine._ Matt, merry Christmas for the second time," she said, reaching for his hand, placing the tiny package on his palm.

He tentatively felt it with his other hand, struggling to get it open – it might actually be too small even for his senses. Of fingers. She mentally cursed, but before she could help him, he opened it on his own, mapping the small item.

"Is that an USB drive?" Candace demanded, baffled. Matt was slightly frowning in concentration, trying to figure out the mystery behind what indeed was an USB drive. Good luck with that, Vera thought.

"Yeah," Vera hummed, wishing it would end with that. Yeah, ' _wishing'_ being the key word.

"And it's personal, because…?" Candace pried, looking confused.

"It's not the disk, Candy. It's the content," Foggy huffed, annoyed, and Vera shot him a murderous glare, while Matt's eyebrows shot up. And his ears went red. The Nelsons family looked all the same except Foggy – their eyes were popped, some of them blushing too. It took Vera a while to realize.

" _Oh my god,"_ she cried out, hiding her face in her hands. Thank god the kids weren't there, attacking their gifts at six a.m., now sleeping again. "It's not an equivalent of a… of an adult movie. _Jesus_ , people."

"That's a lot of blasphemy," Matt noted, still frowning, tracing the lines of the drive as if it would hinted him what was on it.

"What is it then?" Anna asked, obviously curious too. Vera huffed, desperate.

"Okay. If I play just a tiny part – it's clear from the beginning, what it is – would you stop? I have it in my phone too." Vera was already pulling out her phone, sliding her fingers over the surface, searching. She distantly heard the quiet _yep_ from Candace.

Vera took a deep breath, pressing _play_.

She listened to the recording before – very low volume though, in her headphones, worried Matt might heard it. Now, when she turned it up, she could hear the cheering that preceded the firm male voice. She closed her eyes, waiting. There was a huge lump in her throat, blood buzzing in her ears loudly. She should have never agreed to this. She should have never give Matt this gift in the first place.

"In the right corner, weighting 164 pounds, from Hell's Kitchen, New York. Please, welcome… Battling. Jack. Murdock! … In the left cor-"

Vera blindly pressed the stop icon, gulping.

"I think that would be enough," she blurted out, too afraid to actually look at Matt and see his reaction. She could tell he was frozen even without it. She didn't have enough courage to check his expression, expecting his lips turned down. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

"Where… where did you get this?" he asked, voice unnaturally raspy. He sounded a little as if he was choking. Vera's heart sunk, but she hesitantly raised her eyes to him. His lips weren't turned down – they were parted in awe. His whole face screamed _awe._ What was pleasantly surprising though, was that it didn't seem to be a _bad_ thing.

"Fogwell's," she breathed, voice thick as well. "Mr. Fogwell has lots of video recordings of old matches. I noticed one, when some friend of his was returning it. I asked about others. He admitted he had Creel vs. Murdock, obviously. The progress of technique is magic. If you know where to go… they can simply transfer old VHS to computers. You know… digital _._ Audio. Video. _Magic."_

Matt seemed absolutely amazed. His fist was clenched around the drive, squeezing it so tightly Vera was afraid he would crush it – not that it would be too much trouble. She had it in her phone. And her laptop. And Google drive, just to make sure.

The room was scarily quiet. Vera held her breath, waiting for any further reaction. Or for anyone to just break the deafening silence. No one bothered.

The salvation came from upstairs – two set of light but loud feet hitting the stairs in too quick motion snapped Vera and few others from their trance. Vera finally exhaled as Rita cursed under her breath, rising to her feet.

"Amy, Arnie! Don't run inside the house!" she yelled, leaving the room, followed by Bill and everyone's gaze and sympathetic smile.

used the distraction to take another present from under the tree, for himself this time, and the attention turned from Vera and Matt. Vera pretended to watch the old man, but she was trying to catch Matt's mood; he was the only one who was still very obviously lost in his own thoughts.

As Vera observed Edward give his wife a grateful smile over his new slippers, Matt's hand found hers. She immediately snapped her head to him, finding the corners of his own lips inconspicuously raised. There was a drying path of few solitude tears on his cheeks, but he didn't really look sad; what kind of a storm was coming down in his head though, that remained secret. He ran his thumb over her knuckles tenderly and Vera finally relaxed. She still had no idea how he felt about the gift, but now at least she could tell she didn't do a complete misstep.

"Thank you, Vera," he whispered to her ear lowly, placing light kiss on her cheeks, immediately flushing under the touch. "You're incredible."

Something broke in her at his grateful tone. "I didn't do that much-" she whispered back, but before she could continue, he caught her lips in a chaste kiss, silencing her protests. So she didn't protest further. Not even when he withdrew and paid attention to the others like a polite guest he was.

The thing was though, his hand didn't left hers ever since. Not until they had to get up to get a brunch of whatever at Nelson's dining room – not until they reached for their silverware to be precise. The family was consumed in their conversation, sometimes pulling them in, seemingly forgetting the whole incident _(another drama, way to go, Veronika)._ Except Vera sometimes felt Candace's slightly astonished gaze or Foggy's content smile directed their way. No one said a thing though and Vera sure wouldn't be the one to break the unspoken rule.

Vera had listened to the match with Matt, quietly sitting by his side in the bed, swallowing each of her questions about what was happening – without video and knowing the terms, she was lost. Matt seemed to be oblivious to her for once, lost in his memories, apparently creating a picture of the fight in his head. Few tears escaped him again, as the crowd on the recording chanted his father's name and she hugged him, burying her face to his chest to hide from the image of him tearing up – it was breaking her heart, while warming it at the same time, knowing they weren't necessarily tears of sadness. They were sitting in the peculiar octopus for several moments, before he kissed her hair, fully returning her embrace, whispering few more _thank you_. Then he tactfully left to join whoever – changing from the ridiculous sweater back to one of his shirts – and left Vera with Foggy's laptop to call her mum.

When she followed him downstairs what could be half an hour later – her mouth aching from talking, cheeks burning from forced smile and holding back tears – finally emotionally stable, she found him in the living room, watching Candace and Foggy playing chess.

The image was so surprising it made her stop dead in her track, observing the surreal scene. It was starting making sense the second Foggy announced his move and hit the clock, passing the turn to Candace. They were narrating their moves so Matt knew what was happening (however he might know even without it for all Vera knew). Vera smiled, joining him on the couch, sliding under his arm easily, awaiting Candace's next move.

"Do you have any idea of what's happening on the board?" she asked Matt lowly and he nodded, while Foggy hissed at them to stay quiet. It was the first time Vera heard Foggy demand _silence_.

Vera couldn't help noticing Foggy's smug smile when his sister made another move; so she focused on the chessboard and the placement of pieces. Some of the positions felt awfully familiar. Vera frowned as Foggy moved his bishop, not bothering to pretend lack of confidence. Something, _something_ …

Candace reached for her knight, which seemed to be a logical step. _Seemed_ was the key word. It finally struck her.

"Wait!" she yelped, shooting up from Matt's arms, leaning forward before Candace could actually _touch_ the piece and potentially seal her fate.

Candace's hand froze an inch from it, her eyebrow shooting up. Foggy shot Vera an annoyed look.

Vera felt her cheek redden. "Uhm… sorry. Just… can I?" she asked, hesitantly eyeing Candace who retreated her hand, blinking.

"Uhm… okay. You play?"

Vera stood up, walking to Candace's side of the table. "Story time. Is it okay if we pause the time? Great. I used to. With my brother. I was like… twelve, thirteen. I was all about dancing and my father thought I needed something more _intellectual._ And my brother was playing, so naturally they signed me up too. When I went to a tournament – for the first and the last time, luckily enough – I wasn't that bad. I suspect half of the boys were too stunned there was a girl sitting next to them to actually think about the game, so I didn't always lost."

Matt tilted his head, listening attentively, while Foggy seemed more annoyed with each second. Vera didn't blame him – she just thwarted his endgame. Maybe.

She cleared her throat. "Anyway. I dropped after few months, my dad giving me his blessing. But I used to play with my brother sometimes. Few times it was okay, few times not so much. He was much more experienced than I was, like a million times superior, it was annoying. He always pulled some trick, some scheme that inevitably lead to my loss. In time, I realized there were few of them repeating…"

Her hand hovered over the pieces. "I don't want to… you know. But if you play with your knight – which looks like a perfectly rational response to Foggy's move – your king will end up dead in two moves."

Foggy shot her a murderous look as she drew the paths of pieces he would most likely move next. Candace gasped in disbelief. "That's mean!"

Vera smiled awkwardly as Candace looked at her in shock and she distantly noticed Matt's proud smirk.

"Uhm. Anyway. Sorry for the interruption. I'm just gonna shut up and disappear now…" she offered cautiously, feeling tiny under Foggy's glare. Guess she screwed up.

Hand on her forearm stopped her. "Stay! I need you. He's playing dirty."

"Uhm… that seems unfair-"

"He can take Matt if he wants to. Foggy?" Candace asked her brother, who squinted in concentration. Vera was panicking – she was fairly certain Matt playing with Foggy on one team was a terrible idea. They would _crush_ them.

"Pfff. I don't need anyone to beat the two of you," he exclaimed confidently and Vera noticed Matt biting his smile as the macho man Foggy shrugged, hitting the clock again. "Please, help yourself."

Candace eyed Vera and nodded, determined. Vera gave her an unsure smile and examined the board. Let the game begin.

It could be ten minutes later, when Foggy shrieked in terror, getting checkmate, eyeing the girls with horrified expression. "You cheated!"

"We did _not_ ," Candace blurted out, confident, and raised her hand to high-five Vera. Vera gladly returned the affection. Foggy let out another disbelieving pitiful sound and paced to the kitchen, followed by three puzzled gazes.

"You make quite a team," Matt noted and Vera glanced to him, finding him grinning widely.

"You bet your ass we do. The union against older brothers – your brother is older, right?" Candace reassured herself and Vera smiled too, nodding.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's older. I love him, but he can be an ass. And also – no offense, Matt – he's a man. So, you know-"

"Who did that?!" Foggy's yelp interrupted Vera and all three of them snapped their head in his direction. He walked – no he _stumbled_ – into the living room, Vera's box of sweets in his hand, looking scandalized.

"Uhm, Foggy, you okay?" Vera asked carefully and he pouted.

"NO! There were some of those candies you baked. They were right there just an hour ago. I called dibs on them!"

Vera didn't understand. Candace and Matt obviously didn't understand either.

"…Foggy, you have the box with them in your hand. I can see them."

"But it's not here anymore!" he complained, sounding on the edge of crying.

"What?" Candace asked, not following.

"The tiny rolls with almonds or whatever. They were the best!"

Oh, and Vera got _that._ Vanilla rolls. That was the root of the trouble. People seemed to have an addiction to this one kind.

"Oh, those. Yeah, there weren't many in the first place. _Someone_ had eaten most of them before I could pack them," Vera said matter-of-factly. Before she could pack them. Or even _after_ she packed them. Matt sneaked for the box he sensed out with his freaky senses, _stealing_ the rolls. He was like a kid visiting the forbidden cookie jar. Vera admonished him for that, but she was secretly pleased.

"Who- okay, got it. But that doesn't matter. Who ate those you _have_ brought _? I called dibs on them!"_ he repeated exasperatedly, face wounded.

Matt was unusually quiet. Too quiet. Vera checked up on him with corner of her eye. He looked… sheepish. Yep, they had the winner.

"I have no idea, Foggy. Put together a case," Vera advised him wisely, trying to keep her voice serious.

Foggy didn't waste any time. He squinted at his sister. Then Vera. Then his best friend. His eyes went wide.

"Traces of sugar on your shirt. _Oh my god._ It was you! How could you?! MURDOCK! YOU CANDY-EATING MONSTER!" he cried out, shoving the box to Vera's hands. He took a freaking pillow from the couch and cold-bloodedly hit Matt's shoulder.

Well, at least he didn't go for his head.

Matt made a startled sound, pretending for Candace he didn't expect that, raising his hands in defence as Foggy hit him again. And again.

"Foggy! Stop beating up a blind man!" Vera cried out, barely holding back a laugh. Or cry. Matt usually got hit by something definitely harder than a pillow. This must have been a pleasant change.

"Stop beating up your best friend and law partner!" Candace added uselessly. Foggy continued.

"He's not my best friend! He's a traitor! He's a candy. Eating. Monster!" Each of his words was followed by another strike.

"Stop beating up my boyfriend or you're not gonna like what's coming to you!"

Foggy actually stopped, hand extended, pillow prepared, evaluating the situation.

"Franklin!" Another voice joined and the pillow fell from his hand. Anna. Uh-uh, Foggy was in trouble. Vera chuckled silently, wondering how they could be acting like freaking five-years olds.

"Aren't you supposed to fall asleep now?" she asked Matt lowly as Anna was making their way to Foggy to clip round his ear. Matt's lips twitched and he fell to the couch, supposedly out cold.

Candace snorted simultaneously with Vera and they looked at each other with relatively recently found sympathy. Vera was in a good mood. Very high spirit actually.

"You want to or should I? Or should he leave it to Foggy?" Vera offered, beckoning to their newest Sleeping Beauty. Candace's eyes grew wide at her suggestion. Vera wasn't sure at which part. Matt made small startled sound. "I guess it's on me then."

One light magical kiss on his lips and he woke up. Foggy, pouting because he was being admonished for something he had every right to do, rolled his eyes at them. They grinned in return.

…

Vera had morning shift on 27th, which meant she had to leave the night before. Truth to be told, she did _not_ want to leave. Once they sorted things out with Candace, she actually had a great time. To fulfil winter traditions, they went outside to build a snowman. Foggy discovered a mistletoe somewhere and he put in on his Santa Clause hat, walking around the house, demanding kisses; he scored like three of them from Vera to his cheek and one very light peck on his lips (which he demanded after his second cup of eggnog). At that point Matt threatened him with broken jaw if he came to her again. They played few games, they talked, they had a snowball fight – Matt was only… well, observing, but Vera suspected he joined the fight when an opportunity rose and no one was noticing him.

Matt was also on board with leaving. He claimed someone should handle the office, because people needed their help even between the holidays (and Vera heard unspoken _criminals don't take vacation either)_ and packed his stuff on 26th evening as well.

Vera almost cried when _(Anna)_ squeezed her in her arms and it had nothing to do with being held too tight. They all said their goodbyes and Vera left with Matt hanging in her arm, cheeks lightly coloured due to the affection (and eggnog) he received before they left. He spent night at her place, listening to the city attentively until they fell asleep – she could tell. He was gone by morning when she got up and she felt the light tones of Christmas spirit dissolving. When she was leaving, she traced the dress in her wardrobe, smiling goofily.

The last day of the year wasn't anything special. Vera went to the afternoon shift, volunteering since Matt was on a patrol anyway. She expected all customers to disappear around nine p.m. tops, but they didn't. In fact they were still there by the time they should be closing, but the thing was Hannah and Lyla (both pushovers) were on the shift with her, so muscling the people out was a real bitch. Vera was leaving the café an hour later than she was supposed to. Not that she had plans. She was just _tired_ from dealing with mostly drunk customers.

The moment she entered her apartment, she heard a knock on her window. She spun to it in surprise, finding Matt behind the glass, waiting to be let in. She didn't hesitate – she quickly opened the window and Matt slid in, together with cold and snowflakes. She checked him briefly, seeking any injury.

"Hey," he greeted her lightly, kissing her forehead, as she stood frozen in shock. She was fairly sure Matt wasn't done for the night – it was New Year's Eve, there would be plenty of fights, lots of stupid ideas that needed to be stopped. But he wasn't hurt either. Which left her with only one single option; Matt just… stopped by. Her heart fluttered.

"Hey, Matt. You're… not hurt or anything, right?" she asked carefully, scanning him once again. He took off his shoes, removing his mask and gloves. His eyes were smiling as he shook his head.

"Just taking few minutes off. I… midnight is not the most pleasant thing to experience outside," he offered hesitantly, lowering his gaze. Vera was standing just step from him, still in her coat, mind racing. Matt did lots of things he didn't find exactly _pleasant,_ yet it didn't stop him from doing them. She had no idea what could possibly be an exception.

"It's too loud," she blurted out as the realization struck her and he grimaced, nodding inconspicuously. She smiled sympathetically, taking his hand, leaning to his ear. "Well, luckily for you, I'll allow you to crush at my place."

Vera saw his mouth twitch from the corner of her eye. "Lucky me."

He winced when some firecracker went off outside and Vera's first instinct was to cover his ears. It was absolutely stupid thing to do, useless, and she wanted to remove them the second she put them there, but his palms covered hers. He placed light kiss on her temple.

"Thank you. Leave them there," he pleaded lowly, kissing her forehead, his own hands disappearing to border her face. They stood like that for several seconds, before all hell broke lose all of sudden, and Vera knew the midnight had come.

If the noise – and Vera was sure her palms was no help for Matt's sensitive ears – didn't hint her enough, his lips on hers did. He took her lower lip between his, caressing with tenderness, turning her knees weak. She interweaved her fingers in his hair, stroking lightly while trying to keep her palms on spot. It was difficult and she possibly failed. Actually she was pretty sure her hands lost their position the moment one of his hands pushed towards her hip, making her walk backwards, while the other travelled to the back of her neck and his tongue met hers.

Vera would giggle at his eagerness, but somehow she couldn't, her pulse loud in her ears, muffling the noise from outside, excitement rising in her abdomen. She didn't protest when she realized he kept pushing and making her walk in one very obvious direction. She didn't protest when he lifted her hands from where he had claimed he wanted them to strip her coat. And her sweater. And everything else. She helped him with his clothes too since he let her.

The moment they finally reached her bedroom, she couldn't think about anything but his hands and mouth attached to hers. The moment their bodies connected in the most intimate way, she saw actual fireworks.

"You're smiling wider than usual," he hummed, traces of smug satisfaction in his voice as she was lying clutched to his chest, drawing indefinite patterns on the scarred skin. She looked up, seeing him somewhat delighted as well.

"So are you. What you're thinking?"

His smile slightly faltered and Vera immediately regretted asking the question. He kissed the top of her head. "Just… I think that's the first time I actually got to kiss my girlfriend on New Year's," he admitted and Vera tried her best to cover her shock at that exclaim. There was no way she was able to do it properly though. So there was only one option left. Reveal her thoughts as well.

"I was thinking… uhm. In Czechia, we have a saying of some sort. It means _'as you do on New Year's, you'll do the whole year',"_ she explained reluctantly, feeling his body tensing inconspicuously. It was kind of a sore subject, but they could only talk about upcoming several months. No need to fill in the details.

Matt relaxed, leaning his head to hers. "I would like that," he whispered softly and Vera felt her heart flutter _. God, she loved this man so much._ Her lips found his, revealing the darkest secret she kept quite badly.

"Me too."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 _Notes:  
_ _Even more fluff. This got strongly out of hand. I was planning like 10k tops… yeah, that went well. Also, it was supposed to be much more angsty. Hope you enjoyed a little anyway. Please, leave favs or a comment if you feel like it :-) (Even if it only says I'm a freaking sap and you got overdosed on sugar or something)._

 _AnikaAnn out :)_


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